Collins ELT

Work on Your Idioms: digging below the surface

Work on Your Idioms: digging below the surface

Idioms can be a really fun part of language learning with their colourful imagery and quirky cultural connections. However, they can also be a real challenge for learners. There are such a variety of idioms in English and many are...

4 min

Work on Your Phrasal Verbs: focusing on contemporary usage

Work on Your Phrasal Verbs: focusing on contemporary usage

Multi-word chunks of language, such as idioms and phrasal verbs, make up a large proportion of any written or spoken text, so they’re really key for learners to get to grips with. In the next two posts, I’ll be...

4 min

Where to start when softening your English accent

Where to start when softening your English accent

Changing an accent is not an overnight task and many people try and fail because they don’t know the best way to approach accent modification and become overwhelmed. The trouble is we talk all the time without even thinking about...

2 min

Tips on how to use Collins Work on Your Accent in the classroom

Tips on how to use Collins Work on Your Accent in the classroom

Accents are muscular habits. As such, learning a new accent is like learning a gymnastic move, and any teacher should aim to balance the teaching need for muscular repetition with the learner’s need to feel they are making progress.

3 min

Problematic Sounds For Many Non-native Speakers

Problematic Sounds For Many Non-native Speakers

One of the most challenging sounds for non-native speakers of English is actually the most common sound in the English language! That sound is The Schwa. The schwa is a very subtle, quiet sound – you may barely have noticed it,...

2 min

Why Accents Matter

Why Accents Matter

We love accents! We make our living helping people learn a variety of different accents, and we celebrate all the different accents that exist. We also know that accents are a big part of our identities and who we are...

2 min

Phrasal verbs – our top tips and favourite classroom activities

Phrasal verbs – our top tips and favourite classroom activities

Phrasal Verbs are really tricky for our students. It’s just hard to get them right, and they are everywhere in the English language. It’s high time for some new teaching tips, activities and games to help you make phrasal verbs...

7 min